GOALIE THAT WON’T BLOCK FANS

Doug Pitkin can’t forget the day in the early 1990s that Johnny Bower showed up to help his kids’ team practice.

Pitkin knew one Bower was coming to the rink; the co-coach had booked Cindy BowerSudeyko, Johnny’s daughter and a power skating instructor for GTHL teams such as his Richmond Hill/ Vaughan Kings Triple A Bantams. But Cindy brought a guest.

“Mr. Bower (then about 70) had his goalie skates thrown over his shoulder, with the laces tied together like people used to do,” Pitkin recalled. “He said ‘do you mind if an old man gets some ice?’

“As he’s putting his skates on, fear went through my body. I had a lot of energetic teens who probably didn’t know who he was. I hauled my two goalies off the ice and said ‘do whatever Mr. Bower asks. This gentleman is in the Hall Of Fame and your parents are probably going to hear about this and be on their way over right now. You are so fortunate to be on the same ice with this man.’

“What was really neat was it was a twin pad with glass diving the other rink where a Triple A game was going on. Word got around about Johnny and it was like the rink tilted because everybody watching the game came over to see our practice. I was thrilled and the parents were over the top. He was great to everybody that day, our team, the fans, even people who didn’t speak English understood who he was and came over for an autograph.”

Pitkin, a member of the Society for International Hockey Research, met Bower many times afterwards. “Last year, the Leafs went to Sunnybrook Hospital on Remembrance Day (to see war veterans). Johnny was with Darryl Sittler and he worked the entire room. He didn’t let anyone go without seeing them. What a class act.”